Tears in the Dirt

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy.”  
—Psalm 126:5

We live in a culture that celebrates speed and visibility—immediate results, viral moments, quick turnarounds. But revival, in God’s economy, is rarely microwaveable. Psalm 126 reminds us that while God sometimes restores fortunes in an instant (“like streams in the Negev,” v.4), revival often comes not like a flood, but like a seed: slowly, quietly, and after much weeping.

Many faithful gospel workers have lived this truth. They sowed with tears—through rejection, persecution, loss, and obscurity—without ever seeing the harvest this side of heaven. Their lives remind us that revival is not always sudden; it is often the slow result of tear-stained obedience.

Adoniram Judson – Burma

Adoniram Judson, one of America’s first foreign missionaries, sailed to Burma (modern-day Myanmar) in 1812. He lost two wives and multiple children to illness and endured almost two years in a brutal prison. It took six years before he saw a single convert. By the time he died, there were only a few dozen churches.

Today, there are over 3 million Burmese Christians, many of whom trace their spiritual ancestry to Judson’s labor and tears. A stone in Myanmar bears this inscription: “Judson died… but the seed he planted lives on.”

William Carey – India

Known as the "father of modern missions," William Carey arrived in India in 1793. He waited seven years for his first convert. During that time, he lost his son to disease and witnessed the mental collapse of his wife. Yet he pressed on—translating the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and other Indian languages.

Today, the Indian church is growing rapidly, with millions of believers across the subcontinent, many of them impacted by the groundwork Carey laid.

David Livingstone – Africa

David Livingstone, the explorer-missionary to Africa, was driven by a passion to end the slave trade and open the continent to the gospel. Though he made few direct converts himself, his perseverance and advocacy opened the door for countless others. He died kneeling in prayer in what is now Zambia.

Today, sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest-growing Christian regions in the world—over 667 million believers—a growth fueled by those who followed Livingstone’s trail, often through similar trials.

Henry Martyn – Persia & India

Henry Martyn, a brilliant Cambridge scholar, died at 31 after only six years of missionary work. He translated the New Testament into Persian and Urdu, never knowing whether his efforts bore fruit.

But years later, Persian Christians would stumble upon his translation and begin to read the gospel. Today, despite intense persecution, the Iranian underground church is considered one of the fastest-growing in the world—an echo of seeds Martyn never lived to see blossom.

When Revival Comes Slowly

Tim Keller once said, “God works through weakness. The seed must die to bear fruit. And so must we.” These lives show that the kingdom doesn’t always advance with spectacle—it often crawls forward on knees.

Psalm 126 tells us that sowing in tears is not wasted. In fact, it is often the very soil in which joy takes root. When we labor without applause, pray through silence, and preach through rejection, we join a long line of faithful sowers who died believing, not seeing. But God saw.

The tears of Judson, Carey, Livingstone, Martyn—and of thousands of unnamed gospel workers—were never shed in vain. Each one watered the ground for a harvest they could not yet taste. Revival came, and still comes, through those who trusted that God brings the joy, not us.

So Why Keep Sowing?

Because the gospel is true.  
Because God keeps His promises.  
Because every field, no matter how hard, belongs to Him.  
And because one day, those who went out weeping will return—with shouts of joy and arms full of sheaves.

So cry. Sow. Trust. Repeat.  
The harvest is coming.

Lyrics

Intro  
Yeah.  
To every pastor still preaching when no one’s listening.  
To every mama still praying when the night won’t end.  
To every seed sower in dry ground—  
You didn’t miss your moment.  
You’re planting revival. Let’s go.

Verse 1   
Step out in the morning with a bag full of truth  
A Bible in my backpack and mud on my boots  
Ain’t no rainfall, skies still gray  
But I keep on steppin’ in the heat of the day

Been talkin’ to walls, been cryin’ in prayer  
Feelin’ like faith don’t float in this air  
But I heard the promise and I trust what it says—  
My God brings life where they only see dead

Hook  
Tears in the dirt, hands in the sky  
Sowin’ that word, even when it’s dry  
Joy gonna come, I believe that truth  
Harvest is comin’ in a field of proof  
So I cry, I fight, I sow, I sing—  
Waitin’ on the King of Kings

Tag  
Joy’s not gone—it’s growin' underground  
Every tear’s just water for the sound

Verse 2  
Let me talk to you—  
You been walkin’ in silence, still plantin’ obedience  
Feelin’ like your faith hit a ceiling  
But don’t you dare quit, don’t measure by feelin’s  
This ain’t no game—this is kingdom buildin’

Revival ain’t always flash and fire  
Sometimes it’s pain that lifts us higher  
So wipe those tears, keep tillin’ that soil—  
You workin’ with heaven, your labor’s royal!

Hook  
Tears in the dirt, hands in the sky  
Sowin’ that word, even when it’s dry  
Joy gonna come, I believe that truth  
Harvest is comin’ in a field of proof  
So I cry, I fight, I sow, I sing—  
Waitin’ on the King of Kings

Break  
Sow in tears… reap in joy!  
Sow in tears… reap in joy!  
Sow in tears… reap in joy!  
Revival’s comin’, can’t be destroyed

Bridge  
No rain? I’ma water with weepin’  
Hard ground? Still trustin’, still reapin’  
Stone hearts? That’s His work to break  
I’m just called to love, to plant, and wait

(Mandisa sings)  
Ohhh… joy is comin’ in the morning light  
I see the harvest in the fight

Final Chorus  
Tears in the dirt, but my God still moves  
Roots go deep in the hardest truths  
Joy gonna come, it’s a kingdom thing  
Harvest is comin’ in the name of the King  
So I cry, I fight, I sow, I sing—  
'Cause revival's ridin’ on angel wings!

Devotional: The Certain Harvest of Sorrow

Psalm 126:5–6  
“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

The Paradox of Revival

When we speak of revival, we often imagine it as sudden and spectacular—a sovereign downpour of grace, unexplainable, unstoppable. And that’s not wrong. Psalm 126 begins with that kind of divine eruption: “When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.” It describes the sheer gift of spiritual renewal that no human planning could have engineered.

But Psalm 126 doesn’t end there. In verses 5–6, the imagery shifts dramatically: from dreams to dirt, from miracles to manual labor. The psalmist paints a picture not of showers from heaven, but of sowers in dust. Here, revival is not immediate. It is agonizingly slow. The seed must be buried. The soil is dry. The tears are real. And yet—the harvest is certain.

Two Images, One God

Derek Kidner notes that the psalm “pairs the sudden and the slow, the miracle and the mundane.” It reminds us that revival may come like a flood—but more often, it grows like a seed. It emerges not in climactic moments but through long obedience in the same direction.

Tim Keller, reflecting on this kind of gospel labor, often said that spiritual growth and revival happen when we stop confusing justification with sanctification—when we stop measuring God’s love by our visible fruitfulness. Gospel-shaped ministry embraces the hidden seasons, the heartache, the decades where we sow truth into what feels like stone.

Tears That Water the Soil

What does it mean to “sow in tears”? It means continuing to teach when no one seems to listen. It means praying through a dry throat and weary soul. It means loving people who wound you, again and again. It means choosing faithfulness over results, presence over platform, Christ over comfort.

But these tears are not wasted. The psalm does not say we might reap. It says we shall. God sees every drop and treats it as irrigation. As Keller often pointed out, because of Jesus, the cross precedes the crown. Death always precedes resurrection. And therefore, the most tearful sowing is often the most fruitful.

Hope for the Weary Laborer

So take heart, weary gospel worker. If your prayers feel dry, if your efforts feel fruitless, if your ministry seems invisible—remember this psalm. Revival does not always come as rain. Sometimes, it comes as you. You, walking into the field again tomorrow. You, bearing seed with trembling hands. You, loving, forgiving, waiting.

God will bring the harvest. Not because of your strength, but because of His promise. Not because your tears are eloquent, but because they are entrusted to the Gardener who wept and rose.

Reflection Questions:

1. Where in your life or ministry are you tempted to despair because of slow or unseen growth?
2. How does the certainty of harvest in Psalm 126 change the way you view spiritual dryness?
3. What would it look like to embrace your tears as part of gospel sowing, rather than as signs of failure?

Prayer:  
Lord of the harvest, thank You that no tear is wasted, no effort is in vain. Help me to trust You in the hidden seasons, to sow with hope even when the ground seems barren, and to rest in Your promise that joy will come. Amen.